A State Of Trance
by alicetumblesdown
Summary: Two Slytherins. A Painful Tragedy. A Forbidden Relationship. A Mischievous Pair. A Potter in love with a Scamander. A Fantasist. Will Headmistress McGonagall be able to handle this? Second-Generation. AlbusxScorpius. OCxRosexLorcan. LilyxLysandar.HugoxOC.
1. Prologue : Painful Memories

Disclaimer : Harry Potter is owned by JK Rowling. I am a mere fan writing a story.

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><p>It was the week subsequent to the start of Albus's sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He was seated in the Slytherin common room, staring at the flickering embers being consumed by the flames of the fireplace.<p>

He raised himself from his seat on the snug divan where he had laid, perturbed by the incessant lightning that struck outside, he had always feared lightning when he was a child and had not grown out of that habit.

Albus had always feared being ridiculed by his roommates due to his uninvited anxiety. It was caused as a result of his brother instilling fabrications into the over-imaginative head of a seven year old. James had always been a mischief-maker, evidence being that on one fateful stormy night, a time when the two brothers shared room accommodations, Albus had inquired something of James and came to lament over his childhood curiosity in the coming years.

He had asked him after a particularly ostentatious flash of lightning, "What was that?"

After weaving a tall tale of mystery, intrigue, and dismay, James gave an impish smile to his brother and went to bed. Albus, on the other hand did no such thing, he thought to himself he would rather lie in his bed than go over to James's neighboring one and ask permission to lie beside him because James would only mock him incessantly. And Albus being prideful, even at the tender age of seven, would not be able to bear his brothers playful ridicule. Truth be told, he is very sensitive and so hides behind his pride in order to keep his emotions at bay, withdrawing himself from others as an outcome.

However, that does not mean that he is companionless, that would be hard due to the amount of families that attends Hogwarts. Although he loves his family it had become hard for him to convey his inner feelings to them as a result of a traumatizing experience that he thinks about to this day.

When they were children both the Potter's and the Weasley's were sent to their grandmothers house, Molly Weasley, where they would all play with one another. Albus, being the one who's tired from all the running around the fastest, would then venture into the kitchen and spot Molly Weasley moving in a flurry of activity, preparing snacks for the children who she knew would request nourishment the moment they tired out of their games.

At times Albus would help Molly by assisting her in cutting up vegetables for a salad, setting a cake in the oven, at times even just setting up the table before a meal. However, there were days when Albus would be seated on one of the kitchen chairs watching Molly as she moved about the kitchen, it would seem that whenever he was around she would keep her magic to a minimum, perhaps to prolong the time they spent together and Albus would always be silently grateful for it.

Whenever Albus would stay rooted to his seat watching his grandmother cook or bake, it was as if she knew something was wrong, she always knew when there was something troubling him, it was not as if his parents were ignorant of him or anything of that sort, it was just that it was easier for Albus to express himself to Molly than to anyone else. Whether it was because he was content, irritated, or depressed, she was always ready to lend a hand.

When he was six years old, he found he had a passion for Quidditch, however when he once went to practice Quidditch with his neighbor friends he had returned home with tears streaming down his face. He had gone up to the room he shared with his brother and hid under the covers. James had entered the room not long after; he had just finished from his shower and did not realize the dilemma his brother experienced. And so it being his daily ritual he went about teasing his brother, pretending to look about for him before he took a seat on the lump on the bed. In his mischievous mood he did not realize that the quivering figure underneath him was crying until he had torn the covers from his brothers' frame in order to smile joyfully at him.

Yet, when he looked into Albus's emerald eyes he knew something was wrong, the tear tracks were evidence enough, and once he learnt the story of the neighborhood kids who had mocked his sweet little brother, he swore to avenge him but Albus pleaded him not to and had him swear not to tell a soul.

The next day there had been another visit to Molly Weasley, when she had learned her grandsons problem she had told him, "Chin up! You are Albus Severus Potter and you do not allow a bunch of hooligans to tell you that you are not good enough at Quidditch. Nobody can tell you what you can and cannot do."

"Then what am I to do?" he asked dejectedly.

"You prove them wrong! You love Quidditch do you not?"

"I do," he replied with conviction.

"Then what you'll do my dear is practice, practice, practice! Perseverance will prove those ruffians wrong."

Albus replied with a laugh, "They are not gangsters, Grandma!"

"They may as well be," she smiled at him playfully.

A ten-year-old Albus was spending time at the Weasley's. He was quite close to his cousin Rose and arrived at the Weasley house expecting to have a jovial time playing about with his cousin while his mother went to an appointment of hers, but upon arrival both he and his mother Ginevra Weasley, came to discover the residents of the Weasley house had all went out on some errands save for Molly Weasley who had come for a visit. She had been in the kitchen prior to their arrival, preparing a scrumptious meal for the family.

Ginevra was about to bid her mother adieu when her son began to protest. He stubbornly stated that he wanted to spend time with Grandma Weasley. Ginevra was about to reject, on account of Molly being busy, but was silenced by her mothers' words of: "Nonsense. I haven't seen my darling grandson in quite a while Ginny, dear. You leave him with me and get to that appointment you've got." Thanking her mother profusely, Ginevra left for her appointment, while Albus took a seat by the kitchen counter observing his grandmother cook.

"How are you dearie? It's been some time hasn't it?" Molly asked.

"Nearly a month Grandma! James is already at Hogwarts and I'm still stuck here," he complained.

"Have I become too old for you Albus dear? To the point that you can't wait to be whisked away," Molly joked.

"Gran! You know how long I've wanted to go! I've been practicing for years now, and once I'm in school they'll have to recruit me on the team my first year! Just like dad," he said excitedly.

"Well then, why don't you show me what you've got? There are loads of brooms in the closet."

"Gladly," Albus jumped off his stool and went to grab a broom and gloves from the closet down the hall; he then rushed out of the house onto the backyard where Molly could view him through the window. "Are you watching?" Albus asked as he got up on the broom.

"Of course! You better tell me all about your adventures at Hogwarts."

Not a moment later Albus whisked himself away, flying around the field with ease, in order to further impress Molly who was standing by the kitchen window. He started cartwheeling around in circles, even detaching his arms from the broom for a second or two.

Getting off the broom, Albus jogged back into the house, going to return the Quidditch gear and calling out to Molly, "How was I?"

"Superb. Just marvelous Albus dear! You promise me you'll show them won't you? You won't back out of our promise?" Molly's voice was uncharacteristically melancholic.

"I wouldn't dream of it Gran" he replied happily as he walked back into the kitchen. "Why would you ask such a thing?" he stopped however, shock etched on his face for a second as he stared at the red puddle of blood his dear grandmother was lying on.

Knees shaking, it took the boy of ten mere seconds before he rushed to Molly Weasley, cradling her in his arms while sobbing hysterically and calling out to her, "Gran! Gran, you're awake, please be awake, I thought you said you'd be waiting for me to carry out our promise! Please g-grandma, I-I can't! I—" the rest of his words died out as he grasped onto the wrinkled hands of Molly Weasley for the last time.

After that horrible incident Albus lived a whole year in a numb state, he was not able to accept the fact that his beloved grandmother had passed away because it was her time. He'd think back to the blood on the floor, the blood that stuck to his shirt and hands when he screamed for Molly to wake up, if it was her time to go he wondered what was the reason for all the blood he saw, if it was his imagination or something more.

Summertime came around and Albus received an owl, his Hogwarts Letter had arrived, the moment he had awaited for almost 5 years had finally come, except the feeling of warmth evaded him, he did not feel a sense of elation, although he gave a smile to his family members as not to worry them, however all he felt now was a sense of duty, to prove to his grandmother that all his hard work was for a reason.

He had entered Hogwarts and had made it into the Quidditch team during his first year, his skills were extraordinary, ones the Slytherin Captain could not pass up. He was made Slytherin, unlike the rest of the Potter-Weasley clan, but it was not a problem, his family was accepting and to him it no longer mattered what house he was in, he was just relieved that he fulfilled his promise.

However, one good thing did come out of Hogwarts, and that was a beautiful friendship. His name was Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy, and he was seated on Albus's right after the latter got sorted. He was the son of Draco Malfoy, his fathers arch-nemesis during his stay at Hogwarts, though now they were on more pleasant terms, and they may not be the best of friends as their sons are, but they were accepting of their friendship.

Scorpius got his looks from his father, there was an aristocratic look to him, his father had restored the Malfoy family name and his son radiated nobility of his household name. He had featherlike light blonde hair, his bangs fell upon his forehead in sweeps, and his stormy grey eyes held so much power and emotion, it was as if he could tell all your secrets merely by glancing in your direction, or at least that was what Albus felt whenever Scorpius would gaze in his direction.

Albus moved from his spot next to the fireplace and leaned against a wall adjacent to the floor length window half covered in green drapery. He stared at the ring placed in his pinkie finger on his left hand. It was a Prewett family heirloom, his mother had said it belonged to Molly's father and in her will Molly had wanted it to be given to Albus. "It was precious to her, as were you", Ginevra told her son. It was silver in colour, beholding the family crest consisting of a knight's head and a shield below it, the name Prewett was shown above the knight's head and England below the shield. The outer rim of the crest was bejeweled with emerald gems, as in Molly's will it was said to be "Just like my dear Albus's eyes".

Albus slid against the wall; he disordered his already messy Black hair, frustrated at his bangs for irritating the tips of his eyes. Giving up, he curled into himself and kept staring at the ring; swaying back and forth he wondered why everything was so dreadful.

_Well, maybe not._

As he rocked to sleep the last thing he remembered seeing were a pair of stormy grey eyes, not as petrifying as the storm outside, but just as arresting.


	2. Chapter 1 : Favourite Worst Nightmare

**Disclaimer:** Harry Potter is owned by JK Rowling. I am merely a fan writing a story.

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><p>Morning came around too hurriedly for Albus, who was awoken by the sounds of chattering Slytherins entering the common room. He was sprawled out on the floor looking like some sort of drunken sailor. Rubbing his eyes in a failed attempt to rid him from sleep he clumsily stood up and rushed to his room, luckily he was unnoticed by anyone. Upon his arrival he saw that it was empty save for Scorpius Malfoy, who was slouched on his bed sound asleep.<p>

Albus was more of an early riser compared to his friend, who would always wait until the last possible moment before waking. After taking a quick shower and dressing for the day Albus went over to Scorpius, who was smiling serenely in his sleep, Albus lightly nudged him calling out, "Scorp, if you don't wake up soon you'll miss breakfast''. The only response he received was a moan of disapproval and an annoyed, "I bloody hate Mondays".

"There's a quarter to an hour left for breakfast to end, make sure you're there before that," Albus said before walking out the door and heading for the Great Hall.

It had always been like that, Albus would wake up, ready himself for the day, and Scorpius would be semi-awake from his half-asleep state. He would then head down for breakfast, where he would greet the Potter-Weasley clan before taking his seat at the Slytherin table, taking out a book to read while eating. When there a mere twenty minutes left for classes to start Scorpius would enter the Great Hall, not looking one bit scruffy and exhausted as he did a while ago.

The seating arrangements of the Great Hall had changed since the war. Although each house still had its own table, you would see all four houses seated randomly, occupying seats by their friends from other houses.

Albus was currently seated next to Lily and Hugo, the former was chattering on about one thing or another, while Hugo sat stuffing his face with food, looking like a starved man who had just escaped the desert. The two were two beans in a pod, they had been the best of friends since childhood, when they would play together in the burrow they were inseparable and have been ever since.

As much as Albus was more of the silent type he was also the observer. Although he always had a book while eating, he would never be able to read more than a few pages as he always had a distraction in the form of his family. And so the reason he would continue the pretense of reading was so that he would not be disturbed and be forced to participate in his family's conversations, not that they disinterested him, but he would prefer to be the onlooker.

Moments later Rose Weasley entered the Hall looking positively flushed. She headed over to the trio and took a seat on Albus' right. Hugo looked at his sister quizzically and asked,"Did you wake up late?"

Rose replied with an indignant "No", abhorring the thought of being late for anything, "Of course not."

"Then why were you blushing a second ago?" Lily asked her suggestively.

"Oh, am I? Strange…" she stated absently.

Lily and Hugo let the matter go and continued conversing with one another. Albus though was the only one who didn't miss the sidelong glance Rose shot to the entrance. However, he could not tell whom she was staring at because when he looked across the hall he only saw a few Second years walking in.

'_Strange.'_

He didn't have any time to contemplate it any further as he spotted Scorpius walking towards their table, taking his seat on the other side of Albus, and grabbing himself some food to eat.

A chorus of hello, morning, and a grumble from Hugo greeted him. He replied with a "Hey" and began eating.

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><p>"Potter, will you ever be serious?"<p>

"Sirius is my middle name Professor," James smiled cheekily.

A chorus of laughter could be heard throughout the class. James Sirius Potter along with Fred Weasley were the class troublemakers, two peas in a pod, and were often said to be like the legendary Fred and George Weasley. Although James paid no mind to his lessons he was known to be a clever lad when it came down to it, he just cared not for wasting hours listening to his teachers droning on about their lessons.

Leaning back in his chair James spared a quick glance at his right to spot Fred reading an issue of the quibbler behind his Charms book; he had been obsessed with it recently. Shaking his head he turned his attention to the window, by which Ada Nankervis was seated. She was a petite girl with long blonde hair that cascaded down her back in ringlets, she was known as a fantasist who lived in her own world of princesses and knights, which resulted in her lack of friends. She was not teased much but often ignored, and she was fine with that as long as she had her escape to the land of make-believe.

_It was the end of the previous year that James first noticed her, the last day of school before summer. He had been fleeing from a furious Zabini who swore he would castrate him after James had cast a babbling curse at him when Zabini belittled his skills as Quidditch captain. _

'_That'll show him,' James thought to himself._

_Whistling merrily, he started walking up a spiral staircase, stopping when he spotted a lone figure seated on one of the steps dressed in Ravenclaw robes. _

_It was a sixth year girl; she was looking into a book, and reading aloud to herself._

"_There was once a little boy who was prone to jealousy, he could not help how he was, and so would always act out to gain others attention, whether by pulling pranks or making his siblings cry._

_However, nobody cared to punish him, to talk to him, to stop him from committing these deeds. And so he grew up cruel, people feared him, but in truth he was a mere lonely child who was never noticed and so made people notice him by hurting both himself and others. _

_When people came to see him though, they did not notice the sensitive child, but the horrid monster. He had no friends nor did he have any enemies, his parents were too busy praising his siblings to realize what their son had been going through._

_On a particular lonesome day, the boy who had grown into a young man was walking through the castle hallways on his lonesome; there he met a girl who surprised him, as he had expected her to see him and run far, far away once she recognized him. _

_The girl merely looked him in the eyes; she smiled and asked him, 'I wonder why people don't realize you're only trying to fit in. But you know, perhaps it would be best to be invisible, then you would be happier, nobody could hurt you if they don't know that you're there.' "_

_Once finished, the girl took out a quill and began crossing out and jotting down things in her book. It was then that James realized she had not been reading a story, but writing one. And for some reason James felt his heart constrict at the thought of the girl preferring to hide herself from others, fearing the worst._

James would often wonder what it would be like to talk to her, to get to know her, to see her smile and make her realize that there is more to life than pain and suffering.

He spent the rest of the lesson gazing at Ada, lost in his thoughts, not even realizing the lesson had ended until Fred practically yelled in his ear "Are you coming James or are you going to keep staring at the window?" Fred asked giving him a knowing smile.

Flustered, James stood from his seat, grabbed his things, and practically leapt from the classroom, a chuckling Fred behind him.

"You should just ask her out," Fred informed.

"It's not like that!" James bit out.

"Well then, do tell, what is it like mate?"

"It's just she's always alone, she has no friends, I feel bad for her."

"It's not your fault James. Besides, don't you think that maybe she prefers it that way?" Fred asked

"Nobody wants to be alone! She's just shy and afraid, so I'll help her."

"Oh, playing the part of the hero, eh James? Look, you can't just go up to her and be like 'Oi, I noticed you're always on your own and so I thought I'll just get you to make friends'. She'll think you're completely mental James! You've never even given her the time of day before!" Fred stated incredulously.

"Just you watch!" James answered hotly, storming down the corridor. Fred just shook his head bemusedly.

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><p>Lily and Hugo were seated in the library enjoying their free period. Hugo was eating crisps and Lily wondered, not for the first time, how her cousin had such a high rate of metabolism while she had to pay attention to what she ate at all times. During her musings a girl their age took a seat across from the two.<p>

Her name was Octavia. She had brown hair with blonde highlights and was Lily's rival for she wished to rule all fifth years as the fifth year 'Princess'. Both were the two most popular fifth year girls.

Octavia, due to her wealth, her American accent which for some reason was well loved, and her body which caused the majority of the fifth year male population to drool over. However people say, to be like Octavia is to have a hairy heart.

Although Octavia was deemed as good looking in terms of her body, Lily was one of the prettiest fifth years, her beauty made her look innocent. But nobody was fooled because she was just as mischievous as her brother James and cousin Fred, well nobody save for all the members of the faculty, as to them she was one of the brightest, sweetest students they had the pleasure of knowing.

Octavia, who was staring at Lily, gave her a fake saccharine smile and looked at Hugo with barely suppressed glee. Since the start of the school year Octavia had been staring at Hugo like a new species of Hippogriff.

'_She's just miffed that Hugo doesn't even realize she exists,' Lily smirked at the thought._

Lily looked to her side where Hugo was doodling on his scroll of paper in which he was supposed to have been doing his assignment, oblivious to Octavia's transfixed stare.

'_Hugo's always in his own world, I doubt he even realizes girls exist yet.' _

"I need some more crisps. Be right back," Hugo stated but just as he pushed his chair back and turned around he bumped into Alice Longbottom who was carrying a pile of books and Hugo, Alice, and the books tumbled down. Hugo, who had landed on top of Alice turned beet red, and he abruptly stood up fumbling an apology and all but dashed out of the library, but not before taking one last glance at Alice Longbottom who had just got up from her frozen state on the ground, grabbing the scrolls of paper and piles of books, a blush adorning her cheeks.

Getting up from her seat and bending down to help her, Lily couldn't help but think it seems like he's not completely indifferent to _one_ girl in particular.

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><p>"You okay, Al?" Scorpius asked.<p>

"I'm fine," Al returned.

"Well, you don't look it." The two were in their last lesson of the day and Albus had been about to fall asleep twice already. Although Scorpius sounded incensed, Albus could tell his friend was worried about him.

"I just need to catch up on my sleep, I'll be fine". Thus, the conversation ended and they resumed listening to their professor, that is until Albus had fallen asleep in class and Scorpius had to kick him awake so as not to alert the professor of his sleeping student.

After class had ended, Albus and Scorpius left the classroom and instead of following the rush of students headed for the Great Hall, Scorpius grabbed Albus' hand and dragged him into an abandoned classroom and pushed him inside, casting a Colloportus on the door, and a silencing charm to prevent them from being heard.

"What the-? Scorp! What's going on?" Albus asked in a high-pitched voice.

'_Why am I feeling so nervous? It's only Scorpius. He's not going to harm me. Then why am I so tense? I'm feeling so claustrophobic.'_

"Albus, I know you're hiding something from me," Scorpius started walking toward Albus, who was leaning against a large desk, until he was mere inches away from him, his slightly taller frame looming over him, grey eyes staring inquisitively at emerald ones.

Puzzled and somewhat alarmed Albus asked, "What are you on about? Why are you bringing this up out of nowhere?"

Smoldering eyes stared down at Albus and Scorpius let out an aggravated sigh, "You know I hate it when I'm being lied to Albus."

"Of course I know that! You go all mental, and that's why I don't lie to you. Stop being paranoid."

"Paranoid! You think I didn't notice that you've been gone from our room every night since the start of the school year."

'_Yeah, that's because of those bloody dreams, and the weather hasn't been helping as well. But I can't tell him that, he doesn't know about the dreams, about the illusions I have at night. And I can't bloody well tell him; I can't become such a burden to my best mate, what if he hates me if he finds out? What if he thinks I'm a complete nutcase?'_

He had not always had those horrid dreams. They had only started during the past summer; the first one was when he dreamt of the day his grandmother passed away. It was not the first time he dreamt of that day, but this dream was more vile and cruel, it was a true nightmare.

It did not even start out pleasant, rather it started out differently, it was as if he was having an out of body experience, as if he was a mere spectator. The scene played out differently, he was not outside, but in the kitchen seeing his grandmother look out the window where his dream self was flying.

Then all of a sudden everything changed, everything turned into hues of black and red, his dream self was still flying around outside but the sky was no longer blue, it was red, and it was raining blood. But that did not stop him, it did not matter that his black hair was spoiled with the colour of blood, that his white shirt was soaked with the colour of the blood rain, which made him look wounded, that the ground was no longer green, but a red sea that smelt of death, all that seemed to matter to him was to keep flying endlessly.

Inside the kitchen, he could see the back of his grandmothers head oozing with blood, but she did not panic, she did not move an inch, she merely kept smiling at the oblivious child outside while the blood was being drained from her body.

The scene changed once again, to him laying by his grandmothers body, he could see her wand on the ground next to her, and his blood soaked hands grabbed his own wand.

As black tears came streaming down his face, he looked at the wand in his trembling hand, pointed to himself and whispered the words "Avada Kedavra."

After that he had been screaming bloody murder in his sleep causing James to rush into his room in a panic, shaking him awake with his panicked yells, while his parents and Lily were there moments after.

He was taken to St. Mungo's the next day to a new ward that dealt with patients with mental illnesses or as James liked to call it "the loony lot". When diagnosed, Albus was told that there was no illness he had, but these dreams were an after effect of a traumatic experience, and that it was perfectly normal for them to have been triggered years after the experience. He was given potions to prevent them and allow him a dreamless sleep, and if they were to reoccur he would need to return for further checkups by the healers.

The potions had worked and Albus no longer needed them, until his first day back at Hogwarts. A storm was raging, he was afraid and was seated by the fire in the common room like any other day, until he abruptly fell asleep and was greeted by that same haunting nightmare. And that made Albus realize that there was definitely something wrong but he was to afraid to tell anyone and so for the first week of school he would stay up late in the common room and fall asleep for few hours and with luck he no longer had those dreams, however he did feel he was turning into an insomniac.

Now, as he stared up at Scorpius he was left staring up at him helplessly, unable to find the right words to express himself.

"Is it a girl? Is that it?" Scorpius accused. Albus was gaping at him in confusion, sweat started to drip down his face, his breathing turned shallow while Scorpius went on "It is, isn't it. Blimey, Al, you could have told me. You didn't have to be so sneaky about it. And here I am getting all worried while you were out rendezvousing with some girl. I don't know why I bother, and you're not even listening are you?"

"Scorpius, Scorp—I" Albus swallowed, unable to construct a sentence. Scorpius furrowed his eyebrows as Albus grabbed the lapels of Scorpius' school robes in his fists and leaned his head on his shoulder.

"Al?"

"Tired," Albus rasped as his body slumped on Scorpius. Scorpius gripped Albus' waist steadying him lest he fall to the ground. With a sigh he moved his hands to the back of Albus' knees and carried him bridal style, while Albus' arms wound around Scorpius' neck to support himself due to the abrupt movement.

"What are you doing?" Albus asked, his voice muffled as his face was turned towards Scorpius's shoulder.

"I'm taking you to bed," Scorpius replied and although Albus was only half lucid by that point, his whole face flushed for a reason he could yet to comprehend.

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><p><strong>Thanks for reading! <strong>

**It would be lovely if you'd review (:**

**Oh, and for those who were wondering 'Hairy heart' is a wizard saying which means cold hearted.  
><strong>


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